WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - Fourth-seeded Stony Brook nearly led from beginning to end, pulling out a 71-60 victory over fifth-seeded Binghamton Friday night at the Chase Family Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion in the quarterfinals of the 2010 America East Championship presented by Newman's Own.
The Seawolves (10-19, 7-9 America East Conference) were led by junior guard Misha Horsey's 20 points, 16 of which were scored in the second half to help Stony Brook seal the victory over the Bearcats (11-19, 7-9 AE).
"I told [Horsey] during one of the timeouts, 'You need to start taking shots,'" said Stony Brook head coach Michele Cherry, who won her first-ever America East Championship game. "She looked to be more aggressive."
"I don't think she thought she needed to put the team on her back, but that's essentially what she did."
Stony Brook took control of the game from the beginning. Junior forward Kirsten Jeter scored eight of her 15 points to start the game for the Seawolves, giving them the early 8-2 lead.
After Binghamton crept back, Stony Brook broke the game open. With about 16 minutes to go in the first half, the Seawolves went on an 18-4 run, giving them a 15-point lead.
The early deficit put the Bearcats at a serious disadvantage early that they weren't able to recover from.
"Come tournament time, you've got to be ready to go," Binghamton head coach Nicole Scholl said. "By the time we had finally settled in, they had gotten a big enough lead and jump on us that it was really hard to recover."
Binghamton worked its way back into the game, coming as close as four on a three by junior guard Jackie Ward with 10:08 left to go.
However, Horsey would then take control and give Stony Brook a comfortable lead that they would not relinquish.
Sophomore guard Andrea Holmes added a game-high 22 points for the Bearcats in the losing effort.
The Seawolves advance to the America East Championship semifinals on Sunday, where they will face top-seeded host Hartford.
The Seawolves (10-19, 7-9 America East Conference) were led by junior guard Misha Horsey's 20 points, 16 of which were scored in the second half to help Stony Brook seal the victory over the Bearcats (11-19, 7-9 AE).
"I told [Horsey] during one of the timeouts, 'You need to start taking shots,'" said Stony Brook head coach Michele Cherry, who won her first-ever America East Championship game. "She looked to be more aggressive."
"I don't think she thought she needed to put the team on her back, but that's essentially what she did."
Stony Brook took control of the game from the beginning. Junior forward Kirsten Jeter scored eight of her 15 points to start the game for the Seawolves, giving them the early 8-2 lead.
After Binghamton crept back, Stony Brook broke the game open. With about 16 minutes to go in the first half, the Seawolves went on an 18-4 run, giving them a 15-point lead.
The early deficit put the Bearcats at a serious disadvantage early that they weren't able to recover from.
"Come tournament time, you've got to be ready to go," Binghamton head coach Nicole Scholl said. "By the time we had finally settled in, they had gotten a big enough lead and jump on us that it was really hard to recover."
Binghamton worked its way back into the game, coming as close as four on a three by junior guard Jackie Ward with 10:08 left to go.
However, Horsey would then take control and give Stony Brook a comfortable lead that they would not relinquish.
Sophomore guard Andrea Holmes added a game-high 22 points for the Bearcats in the losing effort.
The Seawolves advance to the America East Championship semifinals on Sunday, where they will face top-seeded host Hartford.
